Sources said he was expected to join Kingfisher as early as January although his five-year contract with Jet expires in May 2008. Attempts to contact Prock-Schauer to confirm the development did not yield results.

Rumours of Prock-Schaeur's departure have been rife ever since he completed three years with the airline (which was when his contract freed him to leave the carrier without any financial implications).

Wolfgang's departure will be the latest in a series of departures from Jet Airways. In the last few weeks, Kingfisher has lured away several senior executives including Murli Ramachandran, senior general manager for airport services. Close on his heels was Charles Soon, head of airport services, who has also put in his papers.

Soon had been hand picked by Goyal and was responsible for setting all the airline's international stations from Colombo to Brussels. Kingfisher Airlines Chairman Vijay Mallya has also kept the CEO's post vacant at his airline for a while now.